Hi there, !
Today Sun 04/16/2023 Sat 04/15/2023 Fri 04/14/2023 Thu 04/13/2023 Wed 04/12/2023 Tue 04/11/2023 Mon 04/10/2023 Archives
Rantburg
534800 articles and 1865124 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 69 articles and 189 comments as of 0:31.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion    Local News    Politix   
Texas police seize 3.1 million lethal doses of fentanyl in single traffic stop
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
2 13:09 Procopius2k [10] 
0 [5] 
13 19:48 Frank G [10] 
9 23:06 JohnQC [14] 
24 18:23 Slats Snore5077 [13] 
6 22:53 Injun McGurque7571 [22] 
4 14:37 Super Hose [11] 
8 14:48 Super Hose [8] 
4 18:57 irish rage boy [12] 
1 14:42 Super Hose [5] 
0 [7] 
2 14:41 Super Hose [10] 
1 07:40 Skidmark [4] 
10 21:57 DooDahMan [14] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 11:41 Frank G [9]
0 [12]
0 [20]
0 [8]
0 [5]
0 [12]
0 [11]
0 [11]
2 12:14 Phising Munster4966 [15]
0 [20]
0 [11]
0 [11]
0 [9]
3 08:17 Silentbrick [14]
2 10:00 Warthog [10]
0 [15]
1 06:48 Skidmark [16]
0 [9]
1 08:11 NN2N1 [14]
Page 2: WoT Background
3 22:16 Helmuth, Speaking for Sholugum4538 [14]
1 06:55 Skidmark [8]
0 [8]
0 [7]
1 08:32 Slavising Unineting5672 [12]
1 07:01 Skidmark [4]
0 [6]
0 [9]
0 [11]
1 07:07 Skidmark [15]
0 [18]
Page 4: Opinion
2 16:06 Deacon Blues [8]
0 [4]
0 [6]
3 12:52 Super Hose [5]
6 22:11 Injun McGurque7571 [7]
8 23:29 SteveS [12]
14 15:51 Rex Mundi [13]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
0 [5]
2 16:45 swksvolFF [16]
2 15:09 Flater Forkbeard8651 [13]
0 [7]
0 [6]
0 [7]
4 19:54 Rex Mundi [9]
2 15:00 Skidmark [9]
3 09:55 Chris [5]
Page 6: Politix
5 21:44 DarthVader [9]
3 21:59 DooDahMan [6]
3 14:50 Rex Mundi [13]
3 19:56 Airandee [14]
2 13:41 mossomo [8]
3 13:03 Tom [5]
4 14:36 M. Murcek [12]
8 16:38 NoMoreBS [7]
9 19:04 M. Murcek [25]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Here are the 7 biggest revelations from the US Intelligence leaks so far
[The Hill] The biggest leak of classified documents in a decade created a sprawling crisis in Washington this week as records detail alleged U.S. spying on allies, insights into American thinking on the war in Ukraine and at least two neutral countries mulling plans to support Russia.

Pentagon officials are still reviewing the documents for validity and the Justice Department is overseeing a criminal investigation of the leak.

At least one of the documents containing casualty estimates appears to have been altered, but it’s unclear how many of the roughly 100 leaked records were manipulated.

The documents have circulated online since March and possibly as early as January before picking up attention last week after a New York Times report.

BLUF:

  • Ukraine air defense systems in peril
  • Pentagon casts doubt on Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive
  • US intel on Russia could now be compromised
  • Israeli spy agency supported domestic protests
  • South Korea was concerned about supplying munitions to US
  • Egypt secretly planned to supply Russia with rockets
  • UAE agreed to work with Russian spy agents against US, UK
  • Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 03:31 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  "biggest revelations".....?

    Sorry.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 3:44 Comments || Top||

    #2  Leaker of classified US intelligence works on military base, posted the documents on Discord: report

    8. [Leaker] gerund
    "In linguistics, a gerund is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, one that functions as a noun."
    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 8:21 Comments || Top||


    #4  Yeah these are the same guys that completely missed the lack of pallets and forklifts of the Soviet/Russian military during the last 80 years or that Ukraine would fold like a lawn chair during the invasions.
    I don't doubt some of their assessments are sober and accurate but given what we've learned, colour me skeptical.
    Posted by: Kofi Angusoth9534 || 04/13/2023 9:52 Comments || Top||

    #5  Too many people playing stupid left=wing "woke" games in DC and not keeping their eye on the ball.
    Posted by: Sheba Angosing1573 || 04/13/2023 10:13 Comments || Top||

    #6  The WaPo has an extensive story with no paywall. Curious and full of details. Wonder what is being set up.

    Go to Citizen Free Press for access:
    Posted by: NoMoreBS || 04/13/2023 11:39 Comments || Top||

    #7  ^^^ Or wonder who is being set up.

    Is this a great opportunity for a "friend" to settle old grudges?
    Posted by: Tom || 04/13/2023 12:53 Comments || Top||


    #9  You know.

    Even if I thought this legit, I'm not sure how much I would trust the report to be accurate anyways.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 13:55 Comments || Top||

    #10  The Teixeira arrest video is a hoot.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 16:20 Comments || Top||

    #11  New liberal talking point: gun enthusiast = leaker / spy / traitor
    Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/13/2023 16:27 Comments || Top||

    #12  "Is this your homework, Larry!? Is this your homework, Larry!?"
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 16:34 Comments || Top||

    #13  ^ *SNORT!*
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 19:48 Comments || Top||


    12-year-old feral youth in custody after loaded handgun found at East Chicago school
    [WGNTV] A 12-year-old was taken into custody after a loaded handgun was found at an East reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
    ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
    school Tuesday morning.

    At around 8 a.m., officers were dispatched to the Light House Charter School, located in the 3900 block of Pulaski Street, on the report of a student with a firearm.

    At the school, police were directed to the principal’s office where a 12-year-old was taken into custody. A loaded .40 semi-automatic handgun was recovered, police said.

    The student was transported to the Lake County Juvenile Jail and charged with dangerous possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property.

    After a preliminary investigation, police believe a student overheard other students talking about having a gun in the school. That student reported the incident to a teacher and the student with the gun was located.

    Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  When body mass, batons, razors and slapjacks won't do.
    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 7:40 Comments || Top||


    -Great Cultural Revolution
    Bud Light suffers bloodbath as longtime and loyal consumers revolt against transgender campaign (video)
    [FOX] Bud Light suffered a bloodbath this past weekend.

    Consumers nationwide revolted against the nation's top-selling beer brand after it stepped "recklessly" into the culture wars last week with its new spokesperson, transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, according to bar owners and beer-industry experts around the country.

    "I think society flexes it muscles sometimes and reminds manufacturers that the consumer is still in charge," Jeff Fitter, owner of Case & Bucks, a restaurant and sports bar in Barnhart, Missouri, told FOX Business.

    "In Bud Light's effort to be inclusive, they excluded almost everybody else, including their traditional audience."

    He cited sports fans, working people and women as loyal Bud Light consumers the brand suddenly excluded in its race to go woke.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 03:09 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Bud Light could soon be on 'life support.' F-150 base not happy.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 3:17 Comments || Top||

    #2  Bud Lite fucked with the bull.
    Posted by: badanov || 04/13/2023 4:39 Comments || Top||

    #3  Some day far away, this may go down as the most idiotic marketing idea ever. Ever. Absolutely stupid.
    Posted by: DooDahMan || 04/13/2023 4:49 Comments || Top||

    #4  Willing to bet the AB upper mgt. lost touch, many years ago with their customer base.

    So social media can't save them now. Given a majority of the former customer base is fed up with this new abnormal.

    Posted by: NN2N1 || 04/13/2023 5:49 Comments || Top||

    #5  I wish I had an F-150. Might need an escalator to get into the cab though.
    Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 04/13/2023 6:49 Comments || Top||

    #6  Ford F-150: Lowering Kits

    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 7:26 Comments || Top||

    #7  Dylan Mulvaney is now a spokes-it for Oil of Olay.
    Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2023 9:15 Comments || Top||

    #8  Bought my first pick-up in 2021. An F-150 Powerboost. Rides like a limo. 0-60 in about 4 secs and has a 7.2KW generator built in. Actually powers most of my house. Really love the thing...
    Posted by: Warthog || 04/13/2023 10:20 Comments || Top||

    #9  Forgot to mention. Owning a pick-up is state law in Idaho...LOL
    Posted by: Warthog || 04/13/2023 10:21 Comments || Top||

    #10  Fellow Idahoan, can confirm. My F-150 is year 2000, still going strong.
    Posted by: Nero || 04/13/2023 10:40 Comments || Top||

    #11 
    #3 Some day far away, this may go down as the most idiotic marketing idea ever. Ever. Absolutely stupid.
    Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-04-13 04:49


    DDM,

    Except somewhere somebody else is getting ready to literally say, "Hold my beer..."

    Mike
    Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 04/13/2023 10:49 Comments || Top||

    #12  F-150's for everyone! Drink up!
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 10:52 Comments || Top||

    #13  2010, 4.6L, 175,000 easy miles. 19 to 21.5 mpg. Uses no oil. Leaks no oil. Without question the best vehicle I have ever owned. Hated to see Ford drop the 4.6L Had two of them. Both exceptional.

    Castrol 10w40 at 3k-3.5k. FRAM filter each change. No deviations, no exception. Thx for asking.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 11:16 Comments || Top||

    #14  Oops: Someone just noticed
    'No one at a senior level' was aware Bud Light had made the 'mistake' of partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney - as parent company Anheuser-Busch loses $6BN in six days


    Perhaps the Harvard-educated Fem VP could learn to code?
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 11:32 Comments || Top||

    #15  Some day far away, this may go down as the most idiotic marketing idea ever. Ever. Absolutely stupid.

    Oil of Olay. Nike Women's sports.

    Like a subcommittee got fucking hammered at Davos.

    'No one at a senior level' was aware Bud Light had made the 'mistake' of partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney - as parent company Anheuser-Busch loses $6BN in six days

    Bullshit.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 11:43 Comments || Top||

    #16  Frank G my first pickup was a 1951 Ford F1 with a flathead v-8. I had to sell it when I was in college because I needed money.
    Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2023 11:44 Comments || Top||

    #17  2013 F-150 crewcab with 3.5l Turbocharge ecoboost. Amazing power and acceleration, a great comfort. 86k and in perfect shape. Just priced 2023 and it tops $90k. Interestingly, local mechanic started talking about an entire new power train for around $15k installed.
    Posted by: NoMoreBS || 04/13/2023 11:45 Comments || Top||

    #18  Guess I better buy an F-150 before Biden outlaws them.
    Posted by: Abu Uluque || 04/13/2023 13:07 Comments || Top||

    #19  Warthog: Would a RAM 2500 Tradesman with 6.4L Hemi get me in good graces in Idaho? We're heading that way when Mrs Mundi retires later his year.
    Posted by: Rex Mundi || 04/13/2023 14:45 Comments || Top||

    #20  I have heard a number of liberals suggest that anheiser busch knew they'd lose much of their normal base but expected to replace it with Gen Z. If so, it was a stupid move as Gen Z didn't buy much Bud Light this weekend.
    Posted by: ruprecht || 04/13/2023 16:47 Comments || Top||

    #21 
    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 17:31 Comments || Top||

    #22  ^ We have a winner folks!
    Posted by: Rex Mundi || 04/13/2023 17:36 Comments || Top||

    #23  Oh my.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 18:02 Comments || Top||

    #24  Conservatives launch competitive beer called Ultra Right.
    Posted by: Slats Snore5077 || 04/13/2023 18:23 Comments || Top||


    Anheuser-Busch Loses More than $6 Billion in Market Value Following Transgender Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light Deal
    Consequences. Some people only learn by peeing on the electric fence, multiple times.
    [BREITBART] Anheuser-Busch has lost more than $6 billion in market value in the days following its promotional partnership with transgender
    ...mutton, dressed up as pork...
    social media celebrity Dylan Mulvaney, with its shares falling amid a nationwide backlash against Bud Light.

    Shares of Anheuser-Busch Inbev have dropped nearly five percent after Dylan Mulvaney announced the Bud Light deal at the beginning of the month, wiping out $6.65 billion of the company’s market capitalization.

    Dylan Mulvaney — who was born a male but now claims to be a penised woman — is the latest spokesperson for Bud Light, which has honored Mulvaney with a limited release can with his face on it. In recent social media videos, Mulvaney has promoted the brand by cavorting in a bubble bath and talking about March Madness.

    "This month I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever — a can with my face on it," Mulvaney said in announcing the deal.

    Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  It's fun seeing the flood of "fact-checking" articles claiming this isn't happening.
    Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/13/2023 7:24 Comments || Top||

    #2  If you believe any "fact checking" articles out of the MSM I gotta a bridge to see ya. All the videos on youtube disprove any of them.
    Posted by: Chris || 04/13/2023 9:51 Comments || Top||

    #3  Get me damage control! Put Chappy Buttgig on TV for a mock session!

    a can with my face on it

    He says that like it the first time he's had his face on someone's can.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 14:05 Comments || Top||

    #4  I imagine I would find that my retirement dollars are invested in AB if I cared to look. Hopefully, someone important lost a big chunk of change and wants heads to roll for cause.
    Posted by: Super Hose || 04/13/2023 14:37 Comments || Top||


    -Short Attention Span Theater-
    Florida man: Wildest real-life tales in Sunshine State
    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 08:35 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


    Scientists challenge US wildlife director's qualifications
    [aol.com] Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups are pushing for the removal of the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming she lacks the educational background required to run the agency despite securing Senate confirmation last year.
    Why are these 100 scientists such snobs? Ms Williams grew up on a farm, specializes in environmental law, and served for three years as director of Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks department, which altogether sound like exactly the credentials and experiences a federal bureaucrat ought to have.
    The concerns over the credentials of service Director Martha Williams were outlined in a letter from 100 scientists sent Wednesday to President Joe Biden and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
    "100 scientists"? Sounds Consensusy™
    Williams is an attorney who majored in philosophy, and her critics claim she does not have the science-based education that federal law says is required for the position. Government attorneys have rejected allegations she's not credentialed, but they have not disputed her lack of a science degree.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: 746 || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Some that are qualified should not serve.

    Florida professor leaves $190,000-a-year job following claim he faked data on racism studies

    Ringing "The Bell Curve".
    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 7:37 Comments || Top||

    #2  Why are these 100 scientists such snobs? Ms Williams grew up on a farm, specializes in environmental law, and served for three years as director of Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks department, which altogether sound like exactly the credentials and experiences a federal bureaucrat ought to have.

    TW,

    Ma'am, that's exactly the point. Ms. Williams probably didn't come from the Right Schools and Right Rroups, and if she has actual experience in what she's there for then there's no way they can let her run around loose in the provinces. She might give the plebes ideas or worse, challenge theirs.

    Mike
    Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 04/13/2023 10:56 Comments || Top||

    #3  "Wildlife" is just another club for the left to hit us over the head with. Their requirements for the job have nothing to do with actual conservation.

    Brought to you by the same people who screech "if it saves just one life" out of one side of their mouths while screeching "choice" out of the other.
    Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/13/2023 10:58 Comments || Top||

    #4  Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist best known for his pessimistic—and wildly inaccurate[2][3][4][5][6][7][unbalanced opinion?][editorializing]—predictions and warnings about the consequences of population growth and limited resources.[8][9]

    Ehrlich became well known for the controversial 1968 book The Population Bomb which he co-authored with his wife Anne H. Ehrlich, in which they famously—and erroneously—stated that "[i]n the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now."[10][11] Among the solutions suggested in that book was population control, including "various forms of coercion" such as eliminating "tax benefits for having additional children,"[2] to be used if voluntary methods were to fail, as well as letting "hopeless" countries like India starve to death
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 11:02 Comments || Top||

    #5  Frank, along with many others, Norman Borlaug helped show the lie in Ehrlich's book. Dr Borlaug helped to develop improved strains of wheat and other crops. These improvements allowed India to go from an importer of grain to an exporter.
    Dr. Borlaug also won the Nobel Peace Prize (one of the few deserving people.)
    Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 04/13/2023 11:22 Comments || Top||

    #6  But Mayor Pete is eminantly qualified to be Transportation Secretary.
    Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2023 11:46 Comments || Top||

    #7  "And wear your mask! Wear two of them."
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 13:53 Comments || Top||

    #8  I think the Biden Administration did a headshot six pack of potential candidates for each position and Joe thought she looked most like a park ranger. Then he went back to enjoying his tapioca.
    Posted by: Super Hose || 04/13/2023 14:48 Comments || Top||


    -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
    Thousands of people have been evacuated after a fire broke out at a plastic recycling facility in the US state of Indiana
    [PUBLISH.TWITTER]
    Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  If they can make the fumes smell like cotton Candy most people will be ok with toxic fumes.
    Posted by: Super Hose || 04/13/2023 14:42 Comments || Top||


    Britain
    Prince Harry will attend father's coronation. Meghan won't
    [WGNTV] Prince Harry
    will attend his father King Charles III’s Coronation next month, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending lengthy speculation on whether he would be welcome after leveling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family.

    But Harry’s wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, with the couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said. The May 6 date of the coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.

    Harry’s attendance comes despite the rift within the House of Windsor prompted by his decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book, "Spare."

    The revelations included details of private conversations with his father, and his elder brother, Prince William. The disclosures fanned tensions between Harry and his family, which had become public when he and his wife moved to North America in 2020.

    Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, have alleged she faced racist attitudes from both the palace and the U.K. press. The treatment contributed to their decision to leave the country.

    "Spare" also alleged that members of the royal family regularly hand out unflattering information about others in the House of Windsor — on the condition that they get better coverage themselves.
    Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  ...Somehow, I get the feeling His Majesty may have gone full Don Corleone on his wayward son. Harry may no longer be a 'working' royal, but there's still a lot of things the Palace can do to make his life unpleasant.

    Mike
    Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 04/13/2023 6:50 Comments || Top||

    #2  ^^ "Appollonia Meghan, go start the car, please?"
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 8:20 Comments || Top||

    #3 
    #2 ^^ "Appollonia Meghan, go start the car, please?"
    Posted by: Frank G 2023-04-13 08:20


    ^^...Love it.

    Mike

    Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 04/13/2023 10:28 Comments || Top||

    #4  i admire harry. two tours in afghanistan, one on the ground the other in the air. IMO he should tell his chicken-sh*t pop to go-piss-up-a-rope. Harry would make a good ambassador at large.
    Posted by: irish rage boy || 04/13/2023 18:57 Comments || Top||


    China-Japan-Koreas
    SouthKorea says NorthKorea has launched a ballistic missile off the North’s east coast
    [PUBLISH.TWITTER]

    South Korea says North Korea
    ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche...
    has launched a ballistic missile off the North’s east coast.

    South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staffs says the launch was made on Thursday but gave no further details like how far the missile flew..

    The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Pudge Jong-un
    ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished...
    vowed to enhance his nuclear arsenal in more "practical and offensive" ways.

    North Korea has launched a barrage of missiles this year in protest of South Korean-US military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
    Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Commies


    China put forward an aircraft carrier group. The United States is removing the most valuable from the coast
    Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
    by Dmitry Kosyrev

    [RIA] You might think that history repeats itself. In August last year, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited the capital of the island of Taiwan. Last week it was the same, but in reverse. Another woman, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, is dating Pelosi incumbent Kevin McCarthy.

    And if for the first time China simply flexed its muscles and limited itself to warnings, then what it has now arranged can no longer be called an ordinary show of force. The Chinese Armed Forces deployed an entire strike force near Taiwan - it was about the complete encirclement of the island. To do this, they used the brand new aircraft carrier Shandong and all the required ships of the retinue, including (possibly) a nuclear submarine. They simulated strikes against all targets, including objects of "political significance." And this time the Americans did not climb into the dangerous area.

    One thing is clear: China has begun working out real scenarios for a conflict around Taiwan — a conflict primarily with the United States or its allies (the military capabilities of the island itself are not so serious). That is, in August last year, Beijing , apparently, rather improvised, and now it is acting much more purposefully.

    In the PRC, they probably believe that it is not so much logic and reason as the state of mind of the Washington administration that can really bring things to war, and if so, then you need to think not about why to seize Taiwan (a senseless undertaking for China from all points of view) and see what can really happen.

    There are a few other differences in the aftermath of Pelosi's August visit and Ing-wen's return visit. These are particulars, but they add up to an interesting picture.

    First, after the previous crisis, Xi Jinping met with Joe Biden in Bali , and the latter confirmed that the US continues to consider China as one, not supporting the idea of ​​Taiwanese independence. The crisis seemed to have been settled. Nevertheless, Tsai Ing-wen still arranged her "transit" visit to Washington , ostensibly on her way to Central America . Conclusion: Biden is incapable of negotiating.

    Second, in August last year, Beijing imposed sanctions on Taiwan, depriving it of its raw materials for the production of semiconductors. This year, the situation has become even more complicated - the United States is seriously trying to transfer all the production of the most complex (that is, primarily Taiwanese) chips to its territory, intending to leave the island with nothing. And then what should he do and who will need him? But they warned: look at Ukraine ...

    Thirdly, we recall that French President Emmanuel Macron, who had just visited China, gave an interview upon his return, in which he warned Europeans against participating in new "crises that are not ours", because there would not be enough strength and resources for this. Again Ukraine, which taught them something?

    And lastly, in the United States itself, publications have appeared with references to sane strategists and experts of the administration, where the obvious is mercilessly indicated: the conflict between the two nuclear superpowers will be terrible and destroy the whole world, and why, in fact, does America need it? Taiwan has nothing to do with protecting the country's fundamental interests, but the cost of the island in American lives alone will be enormous.

    Posted by: badanov || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Commies


    #2  I suspect that ship maintenance and reliability will not be their strong suit.
    Posted by: Super Hose || 04/13/2023 14:41 Comments || Top||


    Economy
    Grocery and gas prices helped ease Dallas-Fort Worth March inflation
    [Dallas Morning News] Dallas-Fort Worth’s March inflation rate of 5.8% moved in the right direction and is well below its peak of 9.4% set in July, but local prices are still rising faster than the U.S. overall thanks to home costs and apartment rents.
    Still building lots of houses in Texas, for the newcomers.

    Gasoline prices are 19.2% below a year ago and food prices — instead of soaring in the double-digit percent range as those prices did much of last year — posted more modest increases.
    Brandon did that!

    Prices for the broad category of meat, poultry, fish and eggs were up only 1.2% from a year ago and declined 0.9% from two months ago. The D-FW consumer price index is reported every other month.

    Ham and eggs, both big Easter seasonal foods, led the declines, said Julie Percival, Southwest regional economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The items may have been grocery store loss leaders for the spring holiday, she said.
    So maybe the apparent reduction in inflation is 'transitory'.

    Regardless, food inflation in the protein category and fruits and vegetables, which increased 1.7% from a year ago and declined 1.2% from January, "are much more normal and what we would like to see," Percival said.
    Just be patient!
    Posted by: Bobby || 04/13/2023 10:48 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Gas is back to 4 bucks a gallon here.
    Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2023 11:47 Comments || Top||

    #2  The Californista Plague - the gift that keeps on giving.
    Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/13/2023 13:09 Comments || Top||


    Walmart closing 4 locations in Chicago
    [WGNTV] Walmart plans to close four stores in reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
    ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
    by mid-April, the company announced Tuesday.
    Food bargain deserts!
    Officials with the department store cited profit margins as the reasoning behind the closing.

    "The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago — these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years. The remaining four Chicago stores continue to face the same business difficulties, but we think this decision gives us the best chance to help keep them open and serving the community," a blurb stated.

    Pharmacies at the set-to-close locations will remain open to serve patients for up to 30 days.

    All associates at the closing stores will be paid through Aug. 11, 2023, unless they accept a transfer to another location. Employees who choose not to transfer will receive a severance package after the Aug. 11 date.

    The announcement comes just under two months after Walmart announced its closing of three stores in the Chicago suburbs. The Walmart stores in Homewood and Plainfield closed on March 10 and the Walmart Pickup location in Lincolnwood closed on Feb. 17.

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
    ...the diminutive and vacuous former Heronner da Mare of Chicago. When the corpse count rose she blamed the guns, which are banned anyway...
    was critical of Walmart for closing locations in the city’s South and West sides:

    All communities in Chicago should have access to essential goods and services. That is why I’m incredibly disappointed that Walmart, a strong partner in the past, has announced the closing of several locations throughout the South and West sides of the City. Unceremoniously abandoning these neighborhoods will create barriers to basic needs for thousands of residents. While near-term arrangements will be made for workers, I fear that many will find that their long-term opportunities have been significantly diminished. I call on Walmart to ensure that these soon-to-be-closed stores are repurposed with significant community engagement so they can find a new use to serve their neighborhoods. Walmart also needs to ensure that our residents in these communities that have been left behind will continue to have a reliable source for their everyday necessities. We as a City will do everything in our power to do the same."
    Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Donate them as homeless shelters or migrant housing.
    Get the deductions.
    Posted by: Skidmark || 04/13/2023 7:41 Comments || Top||

    #2  Where will all the people in those locations shop steal now?
    Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/13/2023 7:54 Comments || Top||

    #3  I can't find the actual documentation right at the moment, but there was a time that the city of Chicago fought Walmart tooth-and-nail to keep them from building stores in the area as it would hurt the local businesses.
    Posted by: Mullah Richard || 04/13/2023 8:34 Comments || Top||

    #4  I remember that, too Mullah Richard.
    Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2023 9:20 Comments || Top||

    #5  #2 Hove to the suburbs?
    Posted by: JohnQC || 04/13/2023 10:18 Comments || Top||

    #6  LOL @ 'Profit Margins'.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 14:27 Comments || Top||

    #7  Seems like The People Of WalMart is the biggest loser in this transaction.
    Posted by: Super Hose || 04/13/2023 14:39 Comments || Top||

    #8  The other day I watched a youtube vid titled Why Grocery Stores Are Avoiding Black Neighborhoods. Normally, I would avoid anything CNBC, but I was curious how they would sell the story.

    No big surprises - the usual racism, systemic racism, corporate greed and lots of poignant clips of hardship and woe. But buried in the middle of the piece was an interview with a grocery exec who gave the game away in a single sentence: Our normal stores make a penny on a dollar of sales while the ones being closed lose 4 cents.
    tl;dr: Arithmetic wins again!
    Posted by: SteveS || 04/13/2023 18:32 Comments || Top||

    #9  ^ Maff is raycisss
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 19:47 Comments || Top||

    #10  I bet their math is pretty good when those hoods divvy up and sell their stolen goods.
    Posted by: DooDahMan || 04/13/2023 21:57 Comments || Top||


    Government Corruption
    Biden Electric Vehicle Scheme Will Make America More Dependent on China
    [Breitbart] Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) said that President Joe Biden’s scheme to boost electric vehicle sales would only make Americans more dependent on China for rare earth materials.

    The New York Times reported that the Biden administration will outline aggressive automobile pollution limits that would require at least 54 percent of new vehicles sold in America to be electric by 2030.

    Braun’s office said in a press release that Biden’s proposed emissions standards would attempt to make two-thirds of all new passenger cars and one-quarter of all trucks sold in America electric by 2032.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 03:21 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Commies


    #2  Maybe not. Chinese are threatening (again) to cut of access to their processed rare earth minerals.
    Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Gritch3684 || 04/13/2023 7:47 Comments || Top||

    #3  Say! How many EVs does John Kerry own? Do Greta's parents drive an EV? Klaus Schwab? Any of the climate creeps leading by example?
    Posted by: Bobby || 04/13/2023 8:35 Comments || Top||


    #5  #3 - Only let Jahn F'n Karry fly in EV Jets
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 8:53 Comments || Top||

    #6  ^ That'd be Steve "all-in on cheap imported labor" Forbes...
    Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/13/2023 8:55 Comments || Top||

    #7  testing?
    Posted by: q1 || 04/13/2023 9:11 Comments || Top||

    #8  #3Bobby, thanks for a really good laugh to start off the afternoon.

    The real point of all these rules and this posturing is to show who is important enough to ignore them.
    Posted by: Tom || 04/13/2023 12:58 Comments || Top||

    #9  Bidet: "Will someone explain that cause-effect thing again?"
    Posted by: JohnQC || 04/13/2023 23:06 Comments || Top||


    Taxpayer-Funded NPR Quits Twitter in Ridiculous Article After Correctly Being Labeled 'State-Affiliated Media'
    [Red State] In this episode of Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya...

    Welp, National Public Radio (NPR) made it official on Wednesday, announcing in a delusional, hypocritical article that it’s bidding adieu to Twitter after the Elon Musk-owned social media company "falsely labeled" the partially-taxpayer-funded media organization as "state-affiliated media."

    Lemme fix that: Twitter correctly labeled the demonstrably left-"leaning" NPR as state-affiliated media.

    As reported by NPR itself, the [ahem] "non-profit" company said it will no longer post fresh content to its 52 official Twitter feeds, becoming the first major [ahem] "news organization" to go silent on the social media platform. (See: "butthurt.") In explaining its decision, NPR cited Twitter’s decision to first label the network "state-affiliated media," the same term it uses for propaganda outlets in Russia, China, and other autocratic countries.

    Memo to NPR: Propaganda is generated by innumerable sources of all sizes and persuasions, clowns. All you need is a narrative and a platform from which to spread misinformation, and often outright lies, to your low-information audience — most of whom are intentionally and smugly low-information.

    Here’s more from NPR CEO John Lansing:
    Posted by: Besoeker || 04/13/2023 02:46 || Comments || Link || [22 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  [Bee] National Public Radio Denies Being National Or Public
    Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2023 11:35 Comments || Top||

    #2  Great! Let's defund them so that they won't be state-affiliated any more!
    Posted by: Tom || 04/13/2023 12:58 Comments || Top||

    #3  They could change their name. I think Air America isn’t being used currently.
    Posted by: Super Hose || 04/13/2023 14:34 Comments || Top||

    #4  I like the aviation theme Supe. If AA doesn't make the cut, how about Evergreen Air, or World ?
    Posted by: Hupatle Glavick8456 || 04/13/2023 14:56 Comments || Top||

    #5  Probably more appropriate for it to be on Grindr anyways.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/13/2023 15:02 Comments || Top||

    #6  TWA? "We'll show that bastage!"
    Posted by: Injun McGurque7571 || 04/13/2023 22:53 Comments || Top||



    Who's in the News
    39[untagged]
    5Commies
    4Devout Moslems
    3Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
    3Islamic State
    2Govt of Syria
    2Taliban/IEA
    2Narcos
    2Govt of Iran
    1Govt of Iran Proxies
    1Pak Taliban (TTP)
    1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
    1Muslim Brotherhood
    1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
    1Banditti
    1[untagged]

    Bookmark
    E-Mail Me

    The Classics
    The O Club
    Rantburg Store
    The Bloids
    The Never-ending Story
    Thugburg
    Gulf War I
    The Way We Were
    Bio

    Merry-Go-Blog











    On Sale now!


    A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

    Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

    Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
    Click here for more information

    Meet the Mods
    In no particular order...
    Steve White
    Seafarious
    tu3031
    badanov
    sherry
    ryuge
    GolfBravoUSMC
    Bright Pebbles
    trailing wife
    Gloria
    Fred
    Besoeker
    Glenmore
    Frank G
    3dc
    Skidmark

    Two weeks of WOT
    Thu 2023-04-13
      Texas police seize 3.1 million lethal doses of fentanyl in single traffic stop
    Wed 2023-04-12
      Canadian authorities arrest 2 women repatriated from NE Syria
    Tue 2023-04-11
      Egypt planned to covertly send 40,000 rockets to Russia: report
    Mon 2023-04-10
      20 killed in DR Congo attack blamed on Islamic State group
    Sun 2023-04-09
      Forty-four dead in two attacks in Burkina Faso
    Sat 2023-04-08
      Lebanon to file complaint at UN Security Council over Israeli 'aggression.' Really.
    Fri 2023-04-07
      34 rockets fired from southern Leb by Islamic Jihad
    Thu 2023-04-06
      Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for burning alive three southern Yemeni separatist prisoners
    Wed 2023-04-05
      Clashes between armed groups in Syria's Aleppo lead to casualties
    Tue 2023-04-04
      al-Qaeda commander dronezapped in Syria's Idlib
    Mon 2023-04-03
      Car bombing rocks Syrian capital Damascus, state media says
    Sun 2023-04-02
      ISWAP Terrorists Launch Midnight Attack On Nigerian Police Station In Borno State
    Sat 2023-04-01
      California police union executive director ran fentanyl operation from home: feds
    Fri 2023-03-31
      Gun control activists storm Tennessee State Capitol
    Thu 2023-03-30
      Fort Campbell helicopter crash: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear confirms multiple fatalities expected


    Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
    3.147.47.59
    Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
    WoT Operations (19)    WoT Background (11)    Opinion (7)    Local News (9)    Politix (9)